Someone is hurting our people: Hands off SNAP!

May 16, 2018
Written by Jessie Palatucci

On Monday, May 14 the Poor People's Campaign will launch 40 days of action and advocacy in state capitols and in Washington, DC calling for voting rights protections, programs to address poverty, attention to ecological devastation and measures to curb militarism and the war economy.

Each week will have an issue focus and this first week's theme is, "Somebody’s Hurting Our People: Child Poverty, Women, LGBTQ Community and People with Disabilities." These are the very communities that will be directly harmed by changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP.

Need some examples?

More than $8 in $10 in nutrition assistance go to households that include a child, a senior, or person with a disability. Yet these are some of the people hit hardest by the House Farm Bill.

We know that food insecurity can have devastating effects on children's development and SNAP benefits children especially - it helps 25% of our kids have access to nutritional meals every day.

If the proposed House version gets signed into law more children and families will go hungry. We know that when someone faces unemployment or barriers to employment, hunger only serves to make the problem worse. SNAP benefits as they are now play an important role in helping people find and keep jobs. SNAP is an anti-hunger program, and making changes to it that result in more, not less hungry people is the exact opposite to what it should be doing.

More than 40 million Americans struggle to put food on the table on a regular basis. While charitable organizations play a vital role in addressing hunger, the overwhelming majority of food assistance in this country has historically come from—and must continue to come from—federal programs. Our sacred texts compel us to honor the dignity of every person, especially those who are struggling. No matter a person’s circumstance, no one deserves to go hungry.